Irene Chin, founder of Hei Hei Kimchi in Athens, values producing and selling traditional Korean kimchi with ingredients from local farmers.
Hei Hei launched in 2024 with a special kimchi recipe passed down from Chin’s aunt, who started making kimchi when she was 6 years old. Chin said she is proud to have started the business.
"It's been the most fulfilling thing I’ve ever done in my life and (it was) totally unexpected,” Chin said. “It was such a leap to do this because … it has always been in the back of my head. I love food.”
Honoring local farmers, their land, the food and customers is a top priority for Chin. Chin sources all of her produce from local farms when ingredients are in season and works with more than 20 family farms in the Athens region, according to the Hei Hei website.
With spring and summer underway, the farmers Chin works with are growing vegetable seedlings.
“We have a bunch of farmers growing us snapping cabbage right now (and) ponytail radish,” Chin said. “We're going to start doing sauerkraut too, and other ferments.”
Chin is in business year round and sometimes purchases produce and ingredients from farms in Canada, or further north in the U.S.
Hei Hei sources multiple ingredients from Attican Farms, a woman-owned farm established in 2022 in the Appalachian hills. Kara Olsen, owner of the farm, said she met Chin at an Ohio Ecological Food and Farm Association led farm tour.
Both Chin and Olsen went to school for art and bonded immediately.
“So when they first had the idea of starting a food business, Irene was asking me a few questions about the market and things like that,” Olsen said. “I was just so excited because I knew it would be awesome because anything Irene does is awesome … it was a really exciting prospect to then get to work and collaborate with a friend.”
Sourcing from nearby areas can uplift local businesses and farmers, but also pose benefits for the environment. According to Slow Food Miami, “when ingredients are grown nearby, the distance they travel from farm to table is minimized” and “reduces emissions by a substantial margin.”
Olsen said Chin could source all of Hei Hei’s produce and ingredients from other areas, but chooses to support and buy local.
“It’s really a special and pretty transformative thing for people,” Olsen said. “(I) just really want to make sure to emphasize how unique and special (Hei Hei is) in their just complete commitment to supporting and buying local whenever they possibly can.”
Chin said Hei Hei was also inspired by the work of vendors and farmers seen at the Athens Farmers Market.
“I started becoming friends with the farmers and … they were growing amazing food,” Chin said. “I was like, ‘Man, Athens has a great food scene.’ We have these amazing farms doing really interesting things, and it's unlike anywhere else that I've lived. So it just felt really special.”
Hei Hei is available at the Athens Farmers Market every Saturday, and sold at Kindred Market and The Village Bakery and Cafe. Other retailers in Columbus, Cincinnati, Lancaster, Circleville and Northern Kentucky have Hei Hei in stock, according to the website.
Types of kimchi and ferments sold on Hei Hei’s website include napa kimchi, cucumber kimchi, daikon kimchi, ponytail radish kimchi and sour corn. All 14 oz jars of kimchi cost $14.99, with an 11 oz jar of sour corn costing $13.
Chin’s napa, cucumber and daikon kimchis are always in stock, but the ponytail radish and sour corn are seasonal and limited.
Chin said Hei Hei products are created out of an Appalachian Center for Economic Networks kitchen in Nelsonville. ACEnet is an “economic development organization” serving people in 32 counties in Appalachia.
Each week, Chin said Hei Hei produces a few 100 pounds of kimchi.
“One of the big takeaways from learning about making kimchi from my aunt is you just make a really good tasting marinade, and that acts as the dressing for your vegetables,” Chin said. “So you can really experiment with different things.”
Chin sources red pepper flakes from Korea, which she says makes a difference in the end product. The kimchi also contains local honey and apples, which helps balance out the flavors in the kimchi.
The apples are sourced from Wagner's Fruit Farm in Waterford. Eric Wagner is the owner of Wagner Fruit Farm and said his family does what they can to support local businesses like Hei Hei.
“I grew up on the farm, it is just what I do, helping to feed the world,” Wagner said. “I mean, there always seems to be somebody sourcing our raw material for their product, which is great.”
